“The Golden Age is that pure space we look for as a safe haven, a place in time, a moment in space, a realm populated with primordial symbols and archetypes, which always provide us with serenity and calm in the eye of the storm of day to day existence.
I found inspiration for this collection after losing my father, an amazing spirit, and, I found ideas in all the things of life that I started to cherish more than material gold.
In my favorite plants – the palm trees, in the sweet lines of the female body, in the colors of childhood, delicate or cruel, in curious memories of birds and flowers of remote lands, in sleeping and dreaming awake, in supernatural and bed-time stories.
This is my gold now: living a weaving of indulgent feelings, seeking true beauty, memories, forgetting myself.”– Iulia Toader
Works Available at the Gallery – Iulia Toader: “The Golden Age“
* The dimensions of the works are expressed in cm.
1. EXOTICA
1_Sanctuary
SANCTUARY -
Acrylic on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 100 W
An upward glimpse of the sky from the safe haven of the palm trees shelter. Light. Interrupted. Filtered. Sky. Flight./
O privire in sus spre un petec de cer de la adapostul de frunze de palmier. Lumina. Intrerupta. Filtrata. Cer. Zbor.
2_Vertigo
VERTIGO -
Acrylic on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 80 W
Watching the palm-trees, upward, in my Arcadian* garden./
Privind in sus spre frunzele gigantice de palmier in gradina Arcadiei mele.
* Arcadia refers to a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, a place that existed in ancient Greece when a province of the same name existed. The concept also figures in Renaissance mythology. The inhabitants were often regarded as having continued to live after the manner of the GOLDEN AGE. It is also sometimes referred to in English poetry as ARCADY.
3_Musa Flower
MUSA FLOWER - Acrylic on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 80 W
A banana tree in unexpected colors.
I wanted to express the feeling of lush and indulgence which I recognize in any exotic plant./
Un bananier in culori neasteptate.
Am vrut sa redau sentimentul de desfatare si rasfat nemarginit pe care il am la vederea oricarei plante exotice, mai ales ca floarea de bananier este o minune a naturii.
4_ Tempest
TEMPEST -
Acrylic on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 80 W
Moving palm trees, dizzy upward sky. My passion for the vegetal universe, strong and flexible at the same time. The leaves of palm trees make me think of delicate plumes, while they stay unaltered in the strongest sun and winds./
Palmierii clatinandu-se conturati sus deasupra pe un cer ametitor. Pasiunea mea pentru lumea vegetala exotica, puternica si fragila in acelasi timp. Frunzele palmierilor ma duc cu gandul la pene delicate, care rezista soarelui si vanturilor celor mai puternice.
5_Umi Berries
UMI BERRIES -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 60 H x 40 W
Possible berries, possible sky, tangled & succulent. Inspired by the imaginary realms in the stories I invent for my daughter./
Fructe posibile, profilate pe un posibil cer, suculente si incalcite, inspirate din peisajele imaginare din povestile pe care le inventez pentru fiica mea.
6_Day Five
DAY FIVE -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim.100 H x 150 W
1 Genesis 20-23: Then God said “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth and the open expanse of the heavens.”
And God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind.
And God saw that it was good and God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters and the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning the fifth day./Un tablou de dimensiune mare care uneste cele doua concepte, Exotica si Gold, inspirat din Geneza.
2. GOLD
1_time_god
SOLD
TIME GOD -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 80 W
This work was inspired by the main character Daniel
(translated "God is my judge") in "Rectify" the Sundance series. I was looking for a face to represent the God of Time Chronos* and I choose this character that spends 20 years of his life awaiting his death sentence and finally he is released and exonerated. /
Lucrarea este inspirata de personajul principal Daniel (Domnul e judecatorul meu), din serialul Saundance TV "Rectify". Cautarile pentru un chip care sa il reprezinte pe Chronos s-au oprit la acest personaj care isi petrece 20 de ani din viata in asteptarea executarii pedepsei cu moartea, dupa care este eliberat si exonerat.
2_the_morning_after
THE MORNING AFTER -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 70 H x 50 W
"Don't say a prayer for me now, save it for the morning after." Duran Duran
3_notus
NOTUS - Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 80 W
The God of the South Wind, one of the four directional Anemoi (Wind-Gods). He was wet, storm-bringing wind of late summer and early autumn. Notus is full of fake promises of silence and safe haven.
Zeul vantului de la Sud, unul din cele 4 puncte cardinale, Anemoi (Zei ai vantului). Era un vant umed, aducator de furtuni ale verilor tarzii si ale inceputurilor de toamna. Notus e purtator de false promisiuni de serenitate si protectie.
4_zephyr
ZEPHYR -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 80 W
Inspired by the image of the west wind, ZEPHYR, in Boticelli's Birth of Venus. The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. Another inspiration are the angel wings, seen as pure strings of cosmic energy.
Imaginea are ca sursa de inspiratie silueta zeului vantului din Vest din Nasterea Venerei de Boticelli. Vantul cel mai gentil din cele 4 venturi ale mitologiei Grecesti, Zephir este cunoscut ca un vant prielnic, mesagerul primaverii.O alta sursa de inspiratie sunt simbolurile aripilor ingerilor, interpretate ca string-uri de energie pura.
5_morning_ghost
MORNING GHOST -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 80 W
An experiment. Water, light and mist. Fluid movement and counter-strike, I try to find the feeling of the initial emanations of thought, prior to the precipitations of the first ideas of matter./
Am creat acest tablou ca pe un experiment, apa, lumina, ceata. Miscarea fluida si contra-punctul, un fel de a cauta sentimentul emanatiilor originare si a precipitarii materiei in forma ei incipienta de idee.
6_fallen
FALLEN -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 80 W
Inspired by a poem of Robert Graves, Kiss. It is the same person, the black-haired goddess of my memories, in a swirling movement of falling. Existing and not, or existing at the same time in more positions in space. The painting is about love, fresh or forever lost, brutal or indulgent, all at the same time.
Tabloul este inspirat din poemul lui Robert Graves, The Kiss. Este vorba despre o aceeasi entitate supranaturala, zeita cu plete negre din amintirile mele, in bartejul caderii ei din gratiile divine. Exista sau nu; sau existand in acelasi timp in mai multe pozitii in spatiu. Pictura aceasta este despre iubire eliberata de tirania celor 5 simturi, noua sau pierduta pentru totdeauna, brutala sau rasfatata, toate acestea in acelasi timp.
7_forma
FORMA -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 100 W
This is a nude of the beauty Goddess Venus, inspired by Boticelli's genius work, but brought to modernity, with sea only suggested by the ammonite fossil and the wavy red hair of the woman. It was also inspired by the photos of Nadav Kander, with that specific skin color, almost dead or supernaturally cold./
Acesta este un nud inspirat din "Nasterea Venerei" a lui Boticelli - geniul picturii; imaginea zeitei este adusa in modernitate cu sugestia marii primordiale cu ajutorul sectiunii transversale printr-un amonit fosilizat, intrepatruns cu parul in valuri rasfirat de vant al personajului. De asemenea, pozitia a plecat de la cateva fotogafii ale lui Nadav Kander, un artist pe care il ador, pentru ca are capacitatea de a reda acea culoare speciala a pielii, lipsita de viata sau supranatural.
8_memoria
MEMORIA -
Acrylic and Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 100 W
The goddess of memory lost in the act of disconnecting from the physical world./
Zeita memoriei pierduta in actul desprinderii de lumea materiala. De asemenea, pozitia a plecat de la cateva fotogafii ale lui Nadav Kander, un artist pe care il ador, pentru ca are capacitatea de a reda acea culoare speciala a pielii, lipsita de viata sau supranaturala.
9_nymphet
NYMPHET -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 80 H x 60 W
She's neither a girl nor a woman, not finished, the posture-indecisive, the face not yet ripe; the cruelty of a child and the calm of a woman. Don't go there, it's my kingdom. I'm the princess of chance./
Nu este o fetita, dar nici femeie, este neterminata, cu o postura indecisa si secretiva, cu fata inca necoapta; cruzimea unui copil si calmul unei femei. "Nu umbla acolo, este regatul meu personal. Sunt printesa necesitatii, a inevitabilului."
10_seraph
SERAPH -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 60 H x 40 W
An image inspired of the recovered Seraph* face in the mosque Aya Sophia in Istanbul. A face so powerful and fierce, from another time./
Imaginea fetei personajului supranatural este icoana recuperata prin restaurarea unuia din Serafimii pierduti din Moscheea Aya Sofia in Istanbul. O figura atat de puternica si infricosatoare, care ne priveste dintr-un alt timp./
* A Seraphim is a* heavenly creatures standing nearest to the throne of God. /
* Serafimii sunt niște ființe celeste din religiile creștină și iudaică.
În religia creștină, se află pe una din cele mai înalte poziții din toată ierarhia cerească, fiind numiți “cei mai iubiți” căci ei se află cel mai aproape de însăși ființa lui Dumnezeu.
11_emerald_city
EMERALD CITY -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim.80 H x 100 W
Oil on linen canvas, wooden gilded ornate frame.
Actually it is a self portrait, my view on a legendary time where all vanities are useless and where the vegetative state rules over the restless ego./
De fapt acesta este un autoportret, este viziunea mea despre un timp legendar, unde toate orgoliile sunt inutile si unde starea vegetativa domneste atotputernica peste ego-ul fara liniste.
12_the_sleep_I
THE SLEEP 1 -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 40 H x 60 W
I hope the dream comes to me when I am slowly becoming a bird. Flight is a notion connected to leaving the material for unconquered and amazon territories. Becoming is more important than the result. The result is multivalent and misty. Becoming is crisp and clear. "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. In their foggy visions they obtain glimpses of eternity, and thrill, in waking, to find that they have been upon the verge of the great secret. In snatches, they learn something of the wisdom which is of good, and more of the mere knowledge which is of evil."
Edgar Allan Poe
13_the_sleep_II
THE SLEEP 2 -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 40 H x 60 W
Speranta ca voi avea un vis in care ma voi transforma treptat intr-o pasare. Zborul e o notiune legata de parasirea materiei pentru a cuceri noi teritorii amazonice. Devenirea este mai importanta decat rezultatul final. Rezultatul este multivalent si neclar. Devenirea este clara ca lacrima. "Cei ce viseaza cu ochii deschisi sunt cunoscatorii multor lucruri care le scapa celor care viseaza doar noaptea In viziunile lor incetosate ei zaresc franturi de eternitate, si se infricoseaza la trezire pentru ca realizeaza ca au fost pe cale sa afle marele secret. Pe furis, afla o parte din cunoasterea binelui, si cate ceva din cunoasterea raului." - Edgar Allan Poe
14_pisces_I
PISCES 1 - Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 32 H x 28 W
15_pisces_II
PISCES 2
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 32 H x 28 W
16_pure_gold
PURE GOLD -
Oil on Linen Canvas
dim. 100 H x 80 W
In alchemy there is a special phase in finding the Philosopher's Stone, the element that transforms all into pure gold. It is named Cauda Pavonis and it is said to reveal all the colors of the rainbow, like a peacock's tail. We tend to believe that the most important value is love, not passionate one, but the blessed one, powerful and profound, the parental kind of love. This is a study of white light, a peacock which is also the symbol of immortality and of Hera, the Goddess, protector of families/
In alchimie exista o ultima faza a transformarii catre Piatra Filosofala, cea care transforma totul in aur pur. Acest proces se numeste Cauda Pavonis, pentru ca releva toate culorile curcubeului. Tindem sa credem ca lucrul cel mai de pret este iubirea, nu cea pasionala, ci cea binecuvantata, puternica si adanca, iubirea de tip parental. Acesta este un studiu al luminii, un paun care de asemenea este vestitorul zeitei Hera, cea mai frumoasa, protectoarea familiei.
Curator Karima Radwan Elmaghraby about Golden Age Exhibition:
Curator Karima Radwan Elmaghraby interviewing artist Iulia Toader about the stages of the creation process of GOLDEN paint:
For any information regarding the works above, you can contact us at: oana@renaissance-artgallery.com sau la +40 722 381 325.